Scent Cover-up Quesition

[bt2d]

Are there commercial or home remedies for either removing or covering-up unwanted scent from hunting clothing during storage. Currently I store all my clothing in a large duffel bag without any precautions.

 

Thanks in advance,

BT

[CouesWhitetail]

You can buy laundry detergent at a sporting goods store that is designed to remove scent. Then you can get a special plastic bag for storing your clothes in which keeps scents from getting on them. They also make coverup scent wafers you can put in the bag if you want to add a cover scent to them.

 

Amanda

[.270]

keep a live skunk in the bag with em. main thing is to keep em clean and aired out. but none of it does any good really. if a deer winds you, or sees you move, he's gone. learn how to hunt into the wind. scent covers and eliminators and camo are really and truly overrated and only serve to give inexperienced folks false confidence. wear dark clothes, move slow and stay down wind. Lark.

[couesarcher]

I'm not sure if cover scents work or not. Are they overrated?

 

My buddy that I hunt archery elk with, chews tobaco and he spits on the ground at the base of the tree. He has had elk walk within several feet of his tree and they don't spook. One day he was in his tree and dropped his hat and an elk actually stepped on his hat as it walked by. That ended up being the bull that he shot.

 

Several weeks ago I was sitting a water hole with another friend. He had justed put out his cigarette when a doe came into the water hole.

 

I am also starting to think like lark. Keeping the wind in your face at all time is the way to go.

 

I don't know if thats a scary thing that I'm starting to think like lark. HA HA

 

Terry

[bobbyo]

Great, What should I do with my $500 worth of scent Lock/blocker/asorber activated carbon guaranteed to make my scent invisable to my quarry. I guess I just needa 1.00 bic lighter.

Bob

[AZP&Y]

Here's a review from a hunting website. It touches a few of the key areas and poses some interesting questions and a bit of humor.

Making Scents of it all

 

More and more, today's deer hunters are trying to remain as "scent-free" as possible. This isn't exactly anything new; unscented soaps and other like products have been on the market for some years now. Today, however, the vast selection of products is simply astounding. The question is, do you need them, and can you hunt successfully without them?

 

This year, I bought a Scent-Lok suit. It wasn't like me, spending a little over $250 on pants, jacket, and head cover, but I did it anyway. I envisioned deer after deer strolling by my stand, never having a clue I was anywhere in the area. Well, I've only laid eyes on one deer while wearing The Suit, and I guess it did its job well enough. I had apparently walked within 25 feet or so of a doe as I toted my climbing stand in, and after I set up and started to climb my tree, she spooked and ran. I can only presume that she saw me climbing. It seems that my field-testing of The Suit has a ways to go. I've read lots of good things about it, that's why I bought it, but I have yet to prove its worth in the field.

 

For a couple of years now, I've used a scent-neutralizing spray. With the unusually warm weather this year, I haven't worn The Suit as much as I would have liked (that thing is hot!), so I've relied on the spray when I've used anything at all. I've taken deer while using it, which is a good sign. But I've taken more deer while doing nothing about my scent other than watching the wind, and keeping my scent out of the probable direction I think the deer will approach from. Some of these deer were taken after several days of hot-weather (80+ degrees!) hunting here in Florida, and there's no shower at our camp.

 

I think most of us hunters will do anything reasonable to help ensure our success. This includes using products designed to control or remove our natural human scent. That's no problem at all, but it can sometimes be an unnecessary expense. The main thing to remember, when weighing the cost of one or more of these products, is that many, many thousands of deer have been taken by hunters who wiped their greasy hands on their britches at breakfast, spilled some gas on their boots while filling up the truck, or sweated in the Florida sun for a week without bathing. Every little bit helps, to be sure, but like the Old Man said to the Boy, "You can overdo anything."

 

Good Luck - and remember the scent lok logo "forget the wind and just hunt"

 

Arizona Pope and Young

[muley]

When you clean your camo, ad baking soda and thats it.

[.270]

a couple months ago there was an article in a magazine where a college had done a study on the effectiveness of scent lock stuff. charcoal activated, all of it. they said that it was a farce and that if anything, it retained smell that regular clothing didn't. once the charcoal got impregnated with body odor, you couldn't get rid of it. if you're gonna be a successfull sneaker, keep the wind in your face and never let em see ya move. Lark.

[azhuntnut]

Just this past elk season I tried something new. After washing my cloths in some type of scent remover, I dried my cloths with some of those scent wafers from hunter specialties. They were the ones that smell like cow elk urine. And let me tell you, IT STINKS. I actually had the wind at my back when the whole herd came into me and did not detect my scent. Throw a few of the wafers on yours cloths and hat for extra protection. I would have to say that it works. Just make sure your wife isn't home when you do it or you might be sleeping in the garage that night. I think I used a whole box of cloths freshener to get that smell out of the dryer. I just tried some of my cloths today in mule deer urine to get ready for a hunt on Friday. I will tell how it turns out. David

[DEERSLAM]

It's good to hear real accounts of this subject. There is so much money put into marketing these products and paying professonal hunters to endorse them. It can get confusing.

I have never used scent suppression or cover ups due to my preferred method of hunting, spot and stalk with a rifle.

[.270]

bullwidgeon chews javelina turds tryin' to make his breath less offensive. he took a bath in the dead sea once, when it was still the live sea. and once again, the only thing that always works is to keep the wind in your favor. i've had every kind o' game there is come upwind right into me before, sometimes they do. but if you're puttin' the sneak on any animal, you best be downwind and don't let em see ya move. Lark.

[25-06]

bullwidgeon chews javelina turds tryin' to make his breath less offensive.  he took a bath in the dead sea once, when it was still the live sea.  and once again, the only thing that always works is to keep the wind in your favor.  i've had every kind o' game there is come upwind right into me before, sometimes they do.  but if you're puttin' the sneak on any animal, you best be downwind and don't let em see ya move.  Lark.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Guest AZ>NMcouesaddict]

To each their own, but I prefer to avoid the cover up scents and scent removers. I agree w/ .270 and the others, learn to hunt the wind. I've never had a problem getting close on archery hunts w/o the use of those products. I think that cover scents only allow animals to pinpoint your location, whether it's a natural smell to them or not. I've hunted on my way home from work, after running chainsaws all day long, and have had luck closing the distance. If it boosts your confidence and makes you feel a little more invisible, have at it.

[Coues79]

A deer is like many other animals. They use the particular molecules of scent and can break down almost single molecule that is in the air. If they smell one molecule of something out of the ordinary of their daily lives, they know somethings wrong. Scents are there to cover your scent up. It is not there to block it or eliminate it. No matter what you do, there will always be human scent coming from something on you. Breath, clothes, hat, skin, whatever, it's there. I think like a lot of others too, use the wind to your advantage, be as still as you can and as quiet as you can.